Episode 36. Stay Still
"You're taking the antidote, aren't you? It's good medicine. You'll be fine soon."
Like other gods, Bercheria possessed the power to destroy this land and its inhabitants with just her power alone.
When gods are merciful, they are helpful to humans, but when angry, they become terrifying beings who take all human life.
The more Lacrahan learned about Bercheria, the more he found himself amazed by the god's greatness.
"When did you say our wedding was?"
"I think we'll be ready in two days."
"That's fortunate."
"Usually, we share a room starting the day before the wedding, so let's sleep in my room starting tomorrow. Then we can test the ice element in various ways."
"Yes."
The two sat back to back under a large, breezy tree.
"I heard that the ice element has largely disappeared now. Do you hardly feel it?"
"Our family lived in the north before Periat was formed. To be exact, we controlled a border area even larger than Periat's territory."
Then Periat was formed, and soon after, the Emperor announced a plan to create a portal.
"I gathered wizards with seven different attributes. I searched the continent for powerful wizards and created a portal, but the problem was this: when I thought about it, I realized I had made a mistake."
"Why?"
"I was afraid those wizards would join forces and threaten the emperor's throne."
From then on, the Periat region began to frequently arrest wizards and witches, framing them for ridiculous crimes.
They began to refrain from using their powers to survive, and even kept their family's attributes quiet, fearing harm to their children.
"With less and less use, their powers have deteriorated, and it'll be harder to find someone who knows how to use mana now."
"I see."
"Just a moment."
"Huh?"
"Shhh!"
Lacrahan briefly stopped Bercheria with his hand, then carefully stood up and peered behind a tree.
Curious, Bercheria poked her head next to him, and Lacrahan pressed his lips to his hand as if to tell her to be quiet, while simultaneously pointing to the forest not far away.
Within seconds, a small shadow emerged from there.
Tatiana walked along the forest path, wiping away tears.
She didn't even run today.
She wasn't in the mood for that.
"Sister. Heh."
The child realized that the hailstorm that had just struck Bercheria and caused her to collapse was due to Cookie. She was so shocked that she ran into the forest the moment she heard the story.
At first, she couldn't understand why something like this had happened again.
She understood that she was Bercheria, but she couldn't understand why she kept getting herself into trouble.
Tatiana was simply thrilled to receive so many cookies from the Princess, and she divided them among the children.
What was truly amazing was how the cookies were divided as if they were exactly the same size as the number of children.
No one ate more or less.
But there was one unusually large, golden cookie left.
Without even thinking about it, Tatiana immediately thought of Bercheria.
She simply wanted to share the best food she could find with Bercheria.
“Boohoohoo.”
But she eventually collapsed, and others were injured.
Clever Tatiana didn’t think it was entirely her fault.
But one thing was undeniably true.
“The Princess was a bad person.”
She knew that Kelita wasn’t the beautiful Princess from fairy tales.
A rustle.
A rustle of bushes came from somewhere, startling Tatiana. She looked around, then started running towards her destination.
Lacrahan and Bercheria followed her stealthily.
“Can’t you just go out and call her? She must have been so heartbroken because of me.”
Lacrahan looked down at Bercheria, who was speaking innocently.
“How many spies of Emperor Gerard do you think are in our castle?”
“Well, one or two?”
“I’ve only identified over thirty.”
Bercheria’s eyes widened at the completely unexpected number.
With around 300 people living in Lacrahan’s castle, that meant one in ten was a spy of Emperor Gerard.
“Children are among them.”
“That’s ridiculous. How could children...”
“Children are easily seduced. It’s only wrong to exploit children who don’t yet know what a conscience is.”
A bitter taste filled his mouth.
Until now, Bercheria had believed he could trust children.
But even those innocent children were falling victim to the greed of adults.
The two watched Tatiana run away in tears, hidden.
“I allowed Emperor Gerard to keep me in check. In history, there has never been a beautiful friendship between a war hero and an Emperor.”
“Is that why you came to the north?”
“Similar. This has been my family’s home for a very long time.”
Tatiana’s figure was instantly drawn deeper into the forest.
“Follow me.”
Lacrahan quickly followed.
Bercheria followed him, moving nimbly.
Tatiana stopped in the middle of the forest.
The child’s panting breath formed a white mist that then dispersed.
“It’s cold...”
Bercheria worried about the child’s thin clothing, and Lacrahan covered his mouth and crouched even lower, afraid that Bercheria would be noticed.
A rustling sound was heard, and soon a woman in a dress walked toward Tatiana.
“Ugh!”
The woman held Tatiana and whispered something affectionately.
“Hmm. I can’t hear you.”
Bercheria also looked at Lacrahan and shook her head.
She had lost even the ability to see and hear.
The two simply watched Tatiana meet the woman from afar.
The child seemed to have been interacting with the woman like this for quite some time.
“Has Tatiana lived in the castle for a long time?”
“She only recently moved into the castle, but some of the children have been coming and going before.”
They helped with chores, ate meals, and left. Then, they would not show up for days or stay for days without leaving.
Children without adults to lean on were always restless and inconsistent.
Lacrahan was considerate, allowing them to come and go without worrying about what to do.
“...!”
Suddenly, Lacrahan lifted Bercheria’s upper body with his arm.
As Bercheria stood motionless, something rose up before her nose.
“Poisonous snake!”
The snake flicked its tongue and moved.
Had it been just half a fingertip closer, the snake's tongue would have touched her.
"Don't move,"
Lacrahan whispered, his voice as low as possible.
The thought of what would happen to Bercheria if she were bitten by a venomous snake in her current state became dizzying.
She was probably physically weaker than most women.
"If bitten, you could die."
"Huh!"
Startled, Bercheria threw back, his mouth colliding with her ear.
"Stay still."
Lacrahan lowered his gaze to the hissing snake.
Normally, he would have snatched it away and suffocated it.
But now, he couldn't move rashly, fearing that making a sound might alert Tatiana and the strange woman to their presence.
Bercheria stared into the snake's gleaming eyes.
Hiss—
After a long stare-off, the snake moved, tail first, and then disappeared into the bushes.
"Ha."
Just as Bercheria breathed a sigh of relief.
Whoosh—
Another snake hiding behind the first one nipped her chin.
“Whoa!”
Lacrahan, not knowing there were two of them together, quickly picked up the snake and threw it into the bushes.
At the sound, Tatiana and the woman turned around, but he had already hidden behind Bercheria and a large tree.
Lacrahan trapped Bercheria between the tree and his arm and spoke to her ear.
“You have to suck out the venom.”
“Whoa!”
He lifted the small chin with his finger and, pop, the snake’s fangs appeared.
"You're taking the antidote, aren't you? It's good medicine. You'll be fine soon."
He boasted, but Lacrahan was equally anxious.
Perhaps sensing his mood, Bercheria dropped her hand in disappointment, revealing a scab on the back of her hand.
Her self-healing powers seemed to have vanished.
If the witch known as her mother were to visit at this point, Bercheria would have no way to respond.
She would simply have to let go and endure the consequences.
"I need to regain my strength quickly."
Lacrahan tried to spend most of his time with Bercheria, but with so much to do, it wasn't easy.
Holding the wedding ceremony in advance would have made their time together easier, but now that wasn't an option, so sleeping in the same bed or being in an empty space felt out of place.
As the Duke of the North, he had a line to maintain.
Of course, there was a benefit to this.
He could protect his mental mana, which was being drained by constantly being with her.
However, as time went on, Lacrahan became more and more concerned about Bercheria, and he was reaching a point where he couldn't even fathom his own feelings.
"Your strength will return soon, so don't stress too much."
More than anything, he was worried about the new creature, the "Parallel Butterfly. "
He couldn't know what face she would make when her mother approached Bercheria in his absence.
"I looked up Bercheria's powers in the library this afternoon. They weren't necessarily weather-related, but you could also create wind or freeze your surroundings."
"So that's something."
Bercheria had never used these powers before, so she hadn't even realized she had them.
"It was like that on the day of the hailstorm, but you can also gather clouds or cover the entire sky with dark clouds."
Perhaps sensing his mood, Bercheria dropped her hand in disappointment, revealing a scab on the back of her hand.
Her self-healing powers seemed to have vanished.
If the witch known as her mother were to visit at this point, Bercheria would have no way to respond.
She would simply have to let go and endure the consequences.
"I need to regain my strength quickly."
Lacrahan tried to spend most of his time with Bercheria, but with so much to do, it wasn't easy.
Holding the wedding ceremony in advance would have made their time together easier, but now that wasn't an option, so sleeping in the same bed or being in an empty space felt out of place.
As the Duke of the North, he had a line to maintain.
Of course, there was a benefit to this.
He could protect his mental mana, which was being drained by constantly being with her.
However, as time went on, Lacrahan became more and more concerned about Bercheria, and he was reaching a point where he couldn't even fathom his own feelings.
"Your strength will return soon, so don't stress too much."
More than anything, he was worried about the new creature, the "Parallel Butterfly. "
He couldn't know what face she would make when her mother approached Bercheria in his absence.
"I looked up Bercheria's powers in the library this afternoon. They weren't necessarily weather-related, but you could also create wind or freeze your surroundings."
"So that's something."
Bercheria had never used these powers before, so she hadn't even realized she had them.
"It was like that on the day of the hailstorm, but you can also gather clouds or cover the entire sky with dark clouds."
Like other gods, Bercheria possessed the power to destroy this land and its inhabitants with just her power alone.
When gods are merciful, they are helpful to humans, but when angry, they become terrifying beings who take all human life.
The more Lacrahan learned about Bercheria, the more he found himself amazed by the god's greatness.
"When did you say our wedding was?"
"I think we'll be ready in two days."
"That's fortunate."
"Usually, we share a room starting the day before the wedding, so let's sleep in my room starting tomorrow. Then we can test the ice element in various ways."
"Yes."
The two sat back to back under a large, breezy tree.
"I heard that the ice element has largely disappeared now. Do you hardly feel it?"
"Our family lived in the north before Periat was formed. To be exact, we controlled a border area even larger than Periat's territory."
Then Periat was formed, and soon after, the Emperor announced a plan to create a portal.
"I gathered wizards with seven different attributes. I searched the continent for powerful wizards and created a portal, but the problem was this: when I thought about it, I realized I had made a mistake."
"Why?"
"I was afraid those wizards would join forces and threaten the emperor's throne."
From then on, the Periat region began to frequently arrest wizards and witches, framing them for ridiculous crimes.
They began to refrain from using their powers to survive, and even kept their family's attributes quiet, fearing harm to their children.
"With less and less use, their powers have deteriorated, and it'll be harder to find someone who knows how to use mana now."
"I see."
"Just a moment."
"Huh?"
"Shhh!"
Lacrahan briefly stopped Bercheria with his hand, then carefully stood up and peered behind a tree.
Curious, Bercheria poked her head next to him, and Lacrahan pressed his lips to his hand as if to tell her to be quiet, while simultaneously pointing to the forest not far away.
Within seconds, a small shadow emerged from there.
***
Tatiana walked along the forest path, wiping away tears.
She didn't even run today.
She wasn't in the mood for that.
"Sister. Heh."
The child realized that the hailstorm that had just struck Bercheria and caused her to collapse was due to Cookie. She was so shocked that she ran into the forest the moment she heard the story.
At first, she couldn't understand why something like this had happened again.
She understood that she was Bercheria, but she couldn't understand why she kept getting herself into trouble.
Tatiana was simply thrilled to receive so many cookies from the Princess, and she divided them among the children.
What was truly amazing was how the cookies were divided as if they were exactly the same size as the number of children.
No one ate more or less.
But there was one unusually large, golden cookie left.
Without even thinking about it, Tatiana immediately thought of Bercheria.
She simply wanted to share the best food she could find with Bercheria.
“Boohoohoo.”
But she eventually collapsed, and others were injured.
Clever Tatiana didn’t think it was entirely her fault.
But one thing was undeniably true.
“The Princess was a bad person.”
She knew that Kelita wasn’t the beautiful Princess from fairy tales.
A rustle.
A rustle of bushes came from somewhere, startling Tatiana. She looked around, then started running towards her destination.
Lacrahan and Bercheria followed her stealthily.
“Can’t you just go out and call her? She must have been so heartbroken because of me.”
Lacrahan looked down at Bercheria, who was speaking innocently.
“How many spies of Emperor Gerard do you think are in our castle?”
“Well, one or two?”
“I’ve only identified over thirty.”
Bercheria’s eyes widened at the completely unexpected number.
With around 300 people living in Lacrahan’s castle, that meant one in ten was a spy of Emperor Gerard.
“Children are among them.”
“That’s ridiculous. How could children...”
“Children are easily seduced. It’s only wrong to exploit children who don’t yet know what a conscience is.”
A bitter taste filled his mouth.
Until now, Bercheria had believed he could trust children.
But even those innocent children were falling victim to the greed of adults.
The two watched Tatiana run away in tears, hidden.
“I allowed Emperor Gerard to keep me in check. In history, there has never been a beautiful friendship between a war hero and an Emperor.”
“Is that why you came to the north?”
“Similar. This has been my family’s home for a very long time.”
Tatiana’s figure was instantly drawn deeper into the forest.
“Follow me.”
Lacrahan quickly followed.
Bercheria followed him, moving nimbly.
Tatiana stopped in the middle of the forest.
The child’s panting breath formed a white mist that then dispersed.
“It’s cold...”
Bercheria worried about the child’s thin clothing, and Lacrahan covered his mouth and crouched even lower, afraid that Bercheria would be noticed.
A rustling sound was heard, and soon a woman in a dress walked toward Tatiana.
“Ugh!”
As soon as Tatiana saw the woman, her sorrow seemed to explode, and she cried in her arms.
The woman held Tatiana and whispered something affectionately.
“Hmm. I can’t hear you.”
Bercheria also looked at Lacrahan and shook her head.
She had lost even the ability to see and hear.
The two simply watched Tatiana meet the woman from afar.
The child seemed to have been interacting with the woman like this for quite some time.
“Has Tatiana lived in the castle for a long time?”
“She only recently moved into the castle, but some of the children have been coming and going before.”
They helped with chores, ate meals, and left. Then, they would not show up for days or stay for days without leaving.
Children without adults to lean on were always restless and inconsistent.
Lacrahan was considerate, allowing them to come and go without worrying about what to do.
“I think she’s getting something.”
Lacrahan turned his attention to the woman and the child.
Tatiana was holding a small coin, smiling brightly.
The child seemed oblivious to the consequences of her actions. She was simply so happy to receive the money that she seemed to have forgotten that she had been crying just moments before.
Bercheria was observing the two at that moment.
Lacrahan turned his attention to the woman and the child.
Tatiana was holding a small coin, smiling brightly.
The child seemed oblivious to the consequences of her actions. She was simply so happy to receive the money that she seemed to have forgotten that she had been crying just moments before.
Bercheria was observing the two at that moment.
“...!”
Suddenly, Lacrahan lifted Bercheria’s upper body with his arm.
As Bercheria stood motionless, something rose up before her nose.
“Poisonous snake!”
The snake flicked its tongue and moved.
Had it been just half a fingertip closer, the snake's tongue would have touched her.
"Don't move,"
Lacrahan whispered, his voice as low as possible.
The thought of what would happen to Bercheria if she were bitten by a venomous snake in her current state became dizzying.
She was probably physically weaker than most women.
"If bitten, you could die."
"Huh!"
Startled, Bercheria threw back, his mouth colliding with her ear.
"Stay still."
Lacrahan lowered his gaze to the hissing snake.
Normally, he would have snatched it away and suffocated it.
But now, he couldn't move rashly, fearing that making a sound might alert Tatiana and the strange woman to their presence.
Bercheria stared into the snake's gleaming eyes.
Hiss—
After a long stare-off, the snake moved, tail first, and then disappeared into the bushes.
"Ha."
Just as Bercheria breathed a sigh of relief.
Whoosh—
Another snake hiding behind the first one nipped her chin.
“Whoa!”
Lacrahan, not knowing there were two of them together, quickly picked up the snake and threw it into the bushes.
At the sound, Tatiana and the woman turned around, but he had already hidden behind Bercheria and a large tree.
Lacrahan trapped Bercheria between the tree and his arm and spoke to her ear.
“You have to suck out the venom.”
“Whoa!”
He lifted the small chin with his finger and, pop, the snake’s fangs appeared.
Comments
Post a Comment